What’s America’s favorite food? Pizza! Yep, it far outpaces steak and hamburgers as the nation’s top pick.
Americans eat about 3 billion pizza pies annually. That’s the equivalent of 100 acres of pizza every day or 350 slices per second. It breaks down to 46 slices of pie eaten each year per person.
With such a love for pizza, it’s no wonder we need an entire month to celebrate it. In fact, Congress made it official in 1987, formally designating October as National Pizza Month.
Because natural gas-powered ovens typically play an important role in the pizza-making process, Walton Gas counts many Georgia pizzamakers among our customers. This month we’re shining a light on three locally beloved pizzamakers: AJ’s Pizza Pub in Cornelia, Buckhead Pizza Co. in Atlanta and Hearth Pizza Tavern in Sandy Springs. We checked in with these popular independent restaurants to learn more about their sensational slices.
Fresh takes
Their recipes and preparation methods may vary, but there’s one crucial common denominator among some of Georgia’s most beloved pizzamakers: ingredient freshness is non-negotiable.
Ingredient freshness is non-negotiable
“We’re known for our house-prepared pizzas — everything is fresh, nothing frozen or out of a can,” said Andri Demus, owner of AJ’s Pizza Pub. Dough and sauces are made in-house. Toppings are cut fresh and meat is seasoned and prepared in the AJ’s kitchen to ensure “an explosion of flavors with every bite.”
Sam Abdullah, owner of Buckhead Pizza Company, has a similar take. Fresh dough, handcrafted sauces and fresh toppings are the simple list of ingredients he uses.
“I am very picky about my own food, so that’s why I care so much about the ingredients in what we serve to our customers,” he said, explaining that vegetables such as tomatoes, onions and peppers, are locally sourced as much as possible. “Fresh is best because it’s healthier, and I know it’s safe.”
Freshness is also on trend at Hearth Pizza Tavern. “Everything is made in-house, from the dough to many of the cheeses and toppings,” said Kim Griffin, manager of the suburban pizzeria. Sauces are made from vine-ripened tomatoes topped with select cheeses, choice meats and the freshest vegetables, herbs and spices, the company website reminds.
Big flavor in a small town
Don’t let the small-town location fool you. There’s extraordinary pizza-making happening at AJ’s Pizza Pub tucked into an ordinary retail strip center on the outskirts of Cornelia.
In a location where mountain scenery and apples tend to take center stage, owner Andri Demus and his team have carved out a reputation for making praise-worthy pies.
After relocating from Florida to Georgia in 2001, Demus put his culinary skills to work in local restaurants. In 2020, he opened his own place.
“Yep, we opened just in time for COVID,” the restaurateur said with a laugh, recounting AJ’s debut. “But, in a lot of ways, that benefitted us because we were able to immediately step up and show our community who we are. We fed hospital workers, first responders and partnered with a lot of community organizations at a time when it was needed.”
Local love for AJ’s New York-style, hand-tossed pizza featuring a thinner, crispier crust took off during the pandemic. Growth has continued ever since.
AJ’s Pizza Pub in Cornelia is the home of The Goliath, a 24-inch pizza. Owner Andri Demus says he developed the plus-sized pie as “a challenge for people to eat,” but it has instead become a popular menu item for families and group meals.
Demus brings 35 years of Italian restaurant experience to his culinary stylings. He started making pizza at age 13 while working at a family-owned eatery in New York’s Catskill Mountains. He’d later perfect his pizza-making skills in the kitchen of one of Miami’s most popular Italian eateries.
Demus’ personal favorite is the Godfather, which he describes as “like an Italian sub” made with Italian cured meats and mozzarella cheese baked then topped with lettuce, diced tomatoes and olive oil. The distinctive menu item is what he chose to serve when the restaurant was featured on YouTube’s “America’s Best Restaurants Roadshow” in 2025. AJ’s also won the “Best Pizza Restaurant” award from Restaurant Guru in 2020 and 2021.
‘Done the right way’
Buckhead Pizza Co. has been part of Atlanta’s tony Buckhead neighborhood since 2008. Chef Sam Abdullah operates the urban New York-style pizzeria alongside his daughter Isabella.
“We’re in the heart of Buckhead, surrounded by Atlanta’s financial district, 26 hotels and 30 to 40 residential communities within a 5-mile radius,” the proprietor said. “We see a lot of regulars from the neighborhood but also a lot of visitors come in because the hotels recommend us.”
Abdullah, who began his career in French restaurants, transitioned to Italian cuisine 35 years ago when he acquired a pizzeria. “The team working there taught me the basics of making great pizza and other Italian foods. Then, I used my food knowledge and started improving on it,” he said.
Those improvements eventually led to Buckhead Pizza Co. receiving praise from reviewers as “Atlanta’s best brick oven pizza.” Fresh ingredients and a natural gas-fired oven — pizza “done the right way” — are the keys.
“We get a great stone-baked quality because our massive oven has six inches of brick and a double-sided open fire, which gives us a consistent temperature for an even cook on the top and bottom,” Abdullah said. Buckhead pizzas are placed directly on stone to sear the dough, creating a crispy crust. Total cooking time is only two minutes.
The Bella, made with vodka sauce, fresh mozzarella and pesto, is a customer favorite at Atlanta’s Buckhead Pizza Co.
The pizza menu at Buckhead Pizza Co. includes many nods to the restaurant’s Atlanta locale with options such as The Lenox, The Buckhead, Atlanta Steak and The Ted. The most-ordered, though, has a name that’s nearer and dearer to the owners: The Bella, named for Isabella. It features a vodka sauce base, fresh mozzarella and pesto drizzle.
The pizzamaker can also address special diet concerns. Both gluten-free and cauliflower crusts are available for personal-size pizzas.
Handcrafted, fire-kissed
Heads up, Dawg Nation. Two of your own, University Georgia graduates Rob Caswick and Jeff Newsham are the brains behind Hearth Pizza Tavern, which promises “top-shelf food with a tavern feel.” The two are partners in Atlanta-based MooCoo Group, a restaurant development and operating company with eight local restaurants.
Hearth Pizza puts its own spin on New Haven-style apizza (pronounced ah-BEETZ), a trendy food that’s gaining a following among metro area diners. The pizza style is known for its thin, crisp-yet-chewy crust, charred edges and simple approach that lets high-quality ingredients shine.
“…our dough is made fresh daily, hand-stretched to order,
d cooked directly on the stone…”
“At Hearth, our dough is made fresh daily, hand-stretched to order, and cooked directly on the stone in an open-fire deck oven, creating that signature char and depth of flavor,” manager Kim Griffin said.
The Sandy Springs pizzeria honors the traditions of New Haven apizza while adding its own creative combinations, sauces, cheeses and toppings. This includes offerings such as the Chicken Coup de Ville, made with barbeque sauce, cheddar-fontina, roasted chicken, applewood-smoked bacon, roasted red peppers, red onions and cilantro.
Sauces are made from vine-ripened tomatoes topped with select cheeses, choice meats and the freshest vegetables, herbs and spices, the company website reminds.
The Simply Red consistently ranks as a customer favorite. It’s a classic combination of red sauce, garlic oil, Hearth’s cheese blend, Parmesan and fresh herbs. “It’s simple, flavorful and a great introduction to our signature crust,” Griffin said.
Though every pizza is made with care and baked to perfection, the team at Hearth is quick to point out that they aspire to be “more than just a pizza place.” The atmosphere is intentionally casual and welcoming — the kind of place “that works just as well for a family dinner or a casual night out,” Griffin said.
Celebrating Pizza Month
Each of these pizzerias have specials planned in October to celebrate National Pizza Month. For instance, Hearth Pizza Tavern is celebrating with the return of a seasonal favorite, Oktoberfest Pizza.
Whether your hunger pangs hit while in a rural community, a suburban setting or an urban neighborhood, Georgia has plenty of Italian restaurants and pizzerias offering handcrafted pies that will hit the spot. So, join the celebration of America’s most popular food. It’s a great way to get in your share of slices for the year.